There's Always One Person
by beastlyfeld
Summary: Ash and Misty finally confess their true love! Pokeshipping! AshxMisty 4ever


Laying under the stars, cozy in his sleeping bag, Ash could tell something was wrong. Something was missing. And it didn't take much brainpower to help him figure out what it was.

Ash had friends. Lots of them. He always had at least two people traveling with him on his Pokémon Journey. He even had two of them with him, right there with him. Iris and Cilan were great. But he needed something more than friends. He had been traveling for quite some time, and he had come to the conclusion that everybody in the world had at least one soul mate. One person that they could spend the rest of their life together with and still be happy. It's just a matter of finding them, and, when you do find them, making sure you don't pass them up. And he had a feeling that he had already left his one soul mate behind.

Ash thought back to all of the woman he had met. Only a few of them stood out. He thought of Misty, May, and Dawn, some of his most trusted companions. May was great. But something about her just didn't feel right. Deep down, Ash could tell that it wasn't her.

Next in line was Dawn. It made him smile remembering her. He remembered her cute Piplup, her cheerleader's outfit, and, of course, their high five. But something about their relationship didn't strike him as romantic; instead, they seemed more like very good friends.

Then there was Misty. He felt the initial urge to write off Misty as a love partner, thinking of their long time rivalry and his personality often triggering her hot head. But the more he thought about it, the more he remembered the other half of how things went. He remembered whenever somebody thought they were a couple, the way they would both blush and look away. He remembered the time when Misty met Rudy in the Orange Islands, being sure that Misty was to leave him forever. But she still made the decision to continute traveling with him. He remembered the Silver Conference, when instead of him making Misty mad; it was Macy flirting with him. He remembered those times and so many more, when Misty thoughts for him were so clear, but he overlooked them so unknowingly.

Ash knew what he had to do. As quiet as he could, he wrote a quick note for Iris and Cilan to find in the morning. It looked something like:

Dear Iris and Cilan,

I'm really sorry to leave on such short notice. I was mulling things over in my mind, and I decided that I had to go back to Kanto. I'll explain things more fully when I see you guys again, and I promise that I will.

Catch ya later,

Ash

Meanwhile in Cerulean City, Misty had just finished defeating a challenger. She was growing bored being at the gym all alone every day. She beat the challengers so easily, and they came so frequently that she never had time to go out into town. For the first time in her life, she almost missed her sister's company. She wished she could see Ash again.

Then, something unusual happened. Her heart began to pound in her chest. She felt the strong urge to reach forward and touch Ash, even though she knew she would be reaching forward into empty space. She wanted to see him again so badly. It broke her heart to think that by now he would be traveling with someone else, some other girl and some other guy.

It made her jealous thinking about the other girl.

She remembered how she became jealous when other girls flirted with Ash, even though he wasn't her boyfriend. She remembered how infuriating Ash could be, even though he couldn't help it. She remembered the time when Rudy insisted he was in love with her, but she felt confused because she wasn't sure of her feelings for Ash yet. But now, she felt her feelings for Ash more than ever.

_"Listen, girl, wherever you are, never give up on Ash. Never leave unless you absolutely have to," _she thought, wishing there was a way to tell her. "_Because if you're lucky enough to have him instead of me, don't take it for granted. As mad as he makes you, never give up."_

Misty put a note on the gym doors saying that it was temporarily closed. She went to bed early and dreamed about Ash.

Ash stopped to take a rest. The path was longer than he remembered. He wondered what Iris and Cilan were thinking right then. For a moment he was tempted to go back and check on them, but he pushed the thought away. He had come too far to give up on Misty now. Wiping the sweat off his brow, he told himself it was just a little bit farther.

It was nighttime before he stopped to camp overnight. His legs couldn't take another step. He dreamed about Misty that night.

In the morning, he felt more inspired than ever to reach Misty. Though his legs were more sore than ever, he willed them to move faster and faster until the Cerulean Gym came into sight.

If at all possible, he pushed himself even more than ever to get there. Then, more tired than ever, he reached the door. Suddenly, his heart dropped as he read the note on the door.

"_What?! Temporarily closed? What does this mean?" _Ash's mind started jumping to conclusions. "_What if it's closed because she's with another guy? Does she not return my feelings? Did I just leave Iris and Cilan for—Nothing?" _ Ash turned around to leave.

Just then, Misty was waking up from a glorious dream. At least, she thought it was glorious. Though she didn't remember any details, she did remember feeling wonderful, and it was connected to Ash. She made herself some coffee and went to take the sign off the door.

As she opened the door, she saw a familiar figure walking away. He had his head turned towards the ground, and he looked incredibly disappointed and dejected. Wait a minute—she recognized him! Though he was wearing a new outfit than she remembered; now there was no mistaking it. Ash Ketchum was there!

Misty burst out of the door, dropping her bathrobe and tripping over it. She got up without pausing to brush herself off and ran toward Ash.

"Ash! Ash! ASH!" she shouted. She saw him turn around, his face looking more dejected more than ever. He smiled more than he ever had, and he sprinted toward Misty, and for a couple moments there was nothing else in the world that mattered to them, all there was was him and her, and they both moved to kiss each other, and for the first time in their lives, they both knew what true love felt like.

"I'll… I'll never forget this moment. I've missed you so much!" Whispered Misty. They delved into another kiss, more intense this time.

"Misty…" Ash began to speak softly.

"Shhh." Said Misty. "I know what you want to say. I love you too!"

And, Misty being carried by Ash, went back inside the gym, to catch up on each other's lives. They talked and talked and talked, sharing their adventures and new experiences. And when there was nothing left to talk about, and then they kissed again, simply because they couldn't help but make up for the years they had spent separated from each other. And then they were ready to talk about the one problem they had that could separate them once more.

"Misty," Ash began. "I would be happy to stay here with you at the gym until your sisters are back. They've been gone for such a long time, you haven't had any company except for your Pokémon and your challengers."

"Oh, thank you Ash!" Misty leapt forward and hugged him. "It'll be so much better with you here! I can't—" Just then she was cut off by the entrance of not one, but three tall girls.

"Hi Misty! We're back!" chimed Misty's sisters Daisy, Violet and Lily.

"Hi guys! It's great to see you! How was the tour? Listen, I've got to go! Catch ya later!" Said Misty, speaking very fast. She pulled Ash up from his seat and dragged him toward the door. "Bye guys!" The last glimpse she got of her sister's was their stunned faces.

"Where are we going?" Asked Ash.

"Where do you think we're going?" replied Misty. "On a new adventure! Just the two of us!"

"Awesome! This'll be great!" said Ash.

And with one final kiss, Ash knew that he was right: There's always one person that will forever be your soul mate.


End file.
